Diana Barran has shown extraordinary vision in setting up her own charity towards aiding and supporting victims of domestic violence, and has been awarded the coveted 2007 Beacon Prize for England .

Diana is one of just 13 recipients of the prize and joins the ranks of previous Beacon winners such as Sir Bob Geldof, Jamie Oliver and environmentalist, Zac Goldsmith who have all been recognised for their charitable work through what has become known as the 'Nobel Prize of the charity world', first coined by Prime Minister Gordon Brown

She is the founder of CAADA (Coordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse), a ground-breaking new process of using professional Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) to support victims and co-ordinate help for them. The system aims to keep victims and their children safely within their homes wherever possible and to hold the abuser to account.

Diana's service trains an IDVA to rally round and support the highest risk victims and their children and coordinate the police, the courts, the locksmiths, social services, immigration services, and appropriate community support. The concept aims to allow the victim and their children to stay safely at home, and to shut the abuser out - doubling the number of guilty pleas and halving cases of repeat offending.

Since 2004 375 new IDVA's have now been trained, who are supporting over 30,000 women a year and the approach is working. In Glasgow over 70% of women who used the local IDVA service reported that they were living free from abuse at the end of the support. In one area of South Wales, where an advocacy approach has been in place for five years, research shows a reduction in the rate of repeat offending from 32% to under 10%. These outcomes are now being achieved in a number of areas around the UK thanks to the work of the IDVA.

Diana's ideas are being copied nationally and are influencing government policy - for example IDVA's are now able to access new fast track domestic violence courts.

Beacon's Chairman Martyn Lewis said: "We are especially pleased to see Diana win a Beacon Prize. She has created and implemented a crucial service that protects victims of domestic violence at one of the most terrifying points in their lives. Her scheme shows fantastic results, allowing women and children who had lived in fear to go on to live a life free from abuse."

The Prize Ceremony took place on 22nd November at The Banqueting House, Whitehall, where the winners were inaugurated as Beacon Fellows, a community of Beacon Prize winners who together, champion charitable causes across the globe and nurture a wider culture of giving in the UK.

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For further information on the Beacon Prize, winners' biographies and photos of the 2007 award recipients or on The Beacon Fellowship Charitable Trust contact Fintan Nicholls on 0207 203 8295 or email fintan.nicholls@beaconfellowship.org.uk